INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA - No.8 seed Angelique Kerber is back into the BNP Paribas Open quarterfinals for the second year in a row after edging past No.9 seed Aryna Sabalenka in three sets.

After easing through the first set, Kerber had a battle on her hands as Sabalenka stormed back and got ahead a double break in the third - but the three-time Grand Slam champion responded emphatically to complete the comeback, 6-1, 4-6, 6-4.

“For sure it was the toughest match of the tournament for me,” Kerber told press afterward. “It was an up and down match, a lot of emotions on court. I played really well in the first set, she came back really strong. The third set, I think it was just another fight and another comeback from me.

“I was trying to play every single point and still believing that I could turn around the match. I think in the end it was a fight to win the match.”

It was one-way traffic for the German in the opening set as Kerber absorbed everything Sabalenka sent her way and returned it with interest. As a result, Sabalenka found herself wracking up unforced errors as she tried to go for bigger and bigger shots.

As a result, Kerber was able to apply the pressure to the Sabalenka serve, creating a break opportunity on each of the Belarusian’s service games and reeling off three breaks in a row to claim the opening set.

Kerber made it eight games in a row when she opened the second set with a 2-0 lead, looking ready to race across the finish line. But Sabalenka found her range in a big way after a brief on-court coaching break with Dmitry Tursunov, breaking straight back and playing more measured tennis to even the score at 2-2.

Sabalenka scored the breakthrough at 4-3 and raised her level on the serve tremendously - she didn’t drop a single point on serve the rest of the set - and forced a decider. She continued to steamroll in the start of the third set, going up a double break to lead 4-1.